5 things no one tells you about small business owners:
1. ๐๐จ ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐๐ฌ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ค
Your view of those small businesses is through the narrow opening that is social media. In that view, weโre all busy, always with clients, at speaking engagements or parties. Apparently.
The truth? None of those clients, speaking engagements or parties happen by themselves. Theyโre the result of days, weeks, even months of work, networking and relationship building, just to get some visibility that might lead to further work later.
2. ๐๐ ๐๐จ๐งโ๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ค ๐ข๐ง ๐ฆ๐จ๐ง๐๐ฒ; ๐ฐ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ค ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ข๐ฆ๐
Landed a new client? Fantastic! That means I can keep the business going another x months.
We never think โOoo! Windfall! I can book a holiday with the family!โ Itโs all about keeping on this self-made treadmill.
3. ๐๐โ๐ซ๐ ๐๐ฑ๐ก๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐. ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ญ๐ข๐ฆ๐.
Running a small business is tough. Itโs like being an employee x 5.
You have your core โemployeeโ role: the thing you actually do.
But you also juggle numerous other roles that, in another business, would be someone elseโs responsibility.
Accounting? Prospecting? Finance? Debt recovery? Sales? Social media manager? Graphic design?
We have to do most (if not all) of it ourselves.
You know we’re all logging on multiple times over Xmas.
Sick leave? Joking, arenโt you? We can still do bookkeeping from our hospital bed.
4. ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ข๐ ๐๐จ๐ฒ๐ฌ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ง๐๐ก ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ญ๐จ๐ฒ๐ฌ
Even with copyright protections, derivative works insurance and the like, weโll often find โhomagesโ to our work that have been implemented in much larger businesses.
Imitation might be the biggest form of flattery. But whatโs been imitated has been the result of our sleepless nights, sacrifices and sweat.
And it never gets any less frustrating.
5. ๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฒ, ๐ฐ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ค ๐๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ ๐จ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐๐๐ค ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฒ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ. ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฐ๐ ๐ง๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ.
How easy is employment? Someone else gives us the work. Someone else determines what processes to follow. Someone else will signpost stakeholders to work with.
And you get regular, predictable income. No need to work out whatโs going in the pension this month, tax efficient means of employing your partner or what you can/canโt write-off as a business expense.
But weโve also seen behind the curtain of self-employment.
The flexibility and control that working for ourselves offers means that weโre unlikely to consider going back to employment unless it really works with our head, heart and wallet.
So check-in with your small business owner connections.
That print work you need? ยฃ100 with Vistaprint is not as impactful as ยฃ100 spent with your local printer.
That massage you meant to arrange? Itโs ยฃยฃยฃโs invested in your local community.
That piece of work youโve been putting off?
Why not start a conversation with them and see what value they can bring?
